Big Dango Family
by fabulosfan
Summary: Naruto is sent to protect a princess from the Land of Starfish. Along the way, he learns about trust, teamwork, and that Sasuke REALLY doesn't like his singing. Kinda diffrent than I originally planned. Inspired by Dango Daikazoku from Clannad.
1. Assignment

Some quick info- Naruto and friends are 18. Not sure why sasuke came back, I just wanted him in the story. And he replaced Sai. So the team would normally be Yamato, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura. Story name taken from a song at the ending of an anime called clannad. You should listen to it! It will help understand later, maybe. It's on youtube.

---

Naruto sat at Ichiraku Ramen finishing off his third bowl of miso ramen.

"Ramen, you put me in such a great mood. . ." Naruto sighed, in a happy daze.

"So, you won't mind a summons from the Hokage then," came a familiar voice from behind.

"God, Sasuke, don't surprise me like that!"

Naruto turned to his friend.

"What could that old granny want now; I was about to order another bowl!" complained

Naruto, grumpily paying for his meal.

He stood and began to walk toward Hokage Tower, Sasuke beside him.

"This is the third time this week. The other two were A rank; don't we get any rest?"

muttered Naruto, stretching.

Sasuke crossed his arms.

"Actually, Sakura will be busy at the hospital later today, and Yamato is on a mission. We'll probably be on a new team."

"And they couldn't replace us too!?" exclaimed Naruto.

He imitated Tsunade in a high, girly tone, "Oh, Naruto, I love you so much! You remind

me of my dead brother and boyfriend, but I'm going to get you killed too by sending you on multiple missi---!"

Naruto stopped, noticing the glare he was receiving could rival even Sasuke's.

"Naruto, you idiot! How dare you make fun of the Hokage!"

Naruto went airborne from a chakra-enhanced punch, specialty of Tsunade and his female

teammate.

"Idiot," commented Sasuke, not concerned with helping.

"Jeez! Not you too, Sasuke! Does everyone think I'm an idiot!?"

"Yeah, I'd have to go with Sakura and Sasuke, you are pretty dumb sometimes. So I guess

that means we're going to fail our next mission," Ino remarked in passing, appearing out of

nowhere.

"Where the hell did _you_ come from, Ino?!" Naruto yelled. "And why would I have

anything to do with your team's next mission?! And why do you agree with _them_?!"

"Jeez, Naruto, you may not have noticed," Ino informed, gesturing to a nearby store, "but

I was over there the whole time. And didn't you hear? I'm on your new team."

"But why do you agree with them?!" Naruto screeched.

"Because, Naruto, you're an idiot," explained Ino innocently.

Naruto glared at her, but followed as they continued on to the Hokage.

----

"So, is this another A rank? Man, I need a vacation. Do I get a vacation? Maybe we could

go to---!"

"No, Naruto, you do not get a vacation. Now shut up. Shizune, hand me their orders."

Tsunade took the papers from Shizune and began to read aloud.

"Travel to the Land of Starfish to protect Princess Fuko and her traveling party on the

way to her wedding. The Princess is a V.I.P. client so the mission is A rank."

"Not again," Naruto grumbled, pulling on his spiky blonde hair in frustration.

"Quit being so dramatic, punk," commented a newcomer.

Mitarashi Anko ambled into the Hokage's office to join Naruto, Sasuke, and Ino.

"And that's an order, since I'm your new team leader."

Naruto's eyebrows drew together as he angrily stared at Tsunade.

"So, hold on. To sum this all up, I'm going with Sasuke, the most anti-social person in the

village; Ino, who only cares about her looks; and Miss Creepy-purple-hair-bossy-attitude

lady? And on top of it all, I'm escorting a girly princess to a wedding with _these_ guys? I

thought you were trying to get me killed by making me tired from all these missions, but it

seems you're taking a new approach: Killing me via boredom. Well it's not going to work,

Granny! I'm going to have fun on this trip!

Naruto grinned and left the office, leaving his teammates confused.

"What the hell was he just talking about?"

"No idea."

---

Thanks to my very first beta! I was amazed at how the story flowed so well. Fuko's name is borrowed from clannad, but the character is diffrent. Not a crossover.


	2. Land of Starfish

Yay! Chapter 2! Please review...nobody has yet. :(

---

Naruto sat on his bed with his weapons spread out in front of him, trying to decide what to bring on the mission. He had already packed his backpack three times, feeling like he was missing something.

He heard a knock at the door and opened it to find a very impatient Ino.

"Is it that hard to pack up and go? Or maybe you were eating ramen again," she said.

She looked over to the kitchen, where Naruto was now standing, reaching into the cabinet.

"Thanks, Ino! You just reminded me of what I was missing! I need my instant ramen! How could I forget?"

He grabbed two packages, hesitated, then grabbed a third.

"_Now_ we can go."

He shoved his ramen and weapons into his bag, grabbed his frog wallet, and pushed past Ino.

Hurriedly, they began the walk toward Konoha's gate.

"What's the hurry, Naruto? You were the one who took forever because of _ramen._"

She poked Naruto in the arm.

"If we're late, Anko will kill us. Or something worse."

Naruto walked faster.

---

"Took you long enough," Sasuke muttered to Naruto and Ino as they reached the gate, leaning against a tree.

"Sorry I wasn't here four days early, Mr. Perfect," Naruto quipped, sticking his tongue out at his raven-haired friend.

"Wow, so mature. I'm glad one of the most powerful ninja in the village is on our team!" insulted Sasuke, his tone sarcastic as usual.

Anko walked past the three, her ignoring them an obvious indication of her displeasure with the day's start.

"Are you coming or not?" Anko called out to them.

Reluctantly, the three started after Anko, not exactly sure what they were getting themselves into.

---

Later.

---

"Are we there yet?"

"Do you want to die yet?"

Anko raised an eyebrow and pointed a kunai at Naruto.

"Ha, just kidding. . ." Naruto assured, smiling brightly as he moved closer to Sasuke.

"Don't let her kill me. Please," Naruto hissed to his friend, not being as inconspicuous as he had hoped.

"Moron."

Naruto frowned.

"And Naruto's best friend jumped to his rescue! Not."

Then he smiled, remembering his promise to Tsunade.

He fell into step with Anko.

"You like dango, right?"

Anko smiled.

"Hm, how should I say this? Dango is to me what ramen is to you."

"So, you have dango in your backpack?"

Anko stared at Naruto.

"Yes. . ." she said slowly. "Are you crazy?"

Ino answered for him.

"Yep."

And Naruto forgot completely about his plan, caught up arguing with the rest of his team.

---

The next day they reached the island country of the Land of Starfish.

Upon their arrival, the four immediately went to the mansion where the princess resided.

A servant answered the door and led them hurriedly to the room where the princess was staying.

The servant left them at the shoji, where the four entered the room unannounced.

Princess Fuko was sitting on a tatami mat in front of a small table.

The princess elegantly brought a cup of tea to her lips, her long ebony hair swinging forth, unbound. Her furisode was black, and trimmed with a gold obi.

Princess Fuko looked up and smiled at them.

"Please, come sit. You traveled all the way from the Land of Fire, only to be traveling again soon. Come, have some tea."

A servant placed four cups on the table and refilled the pot of tea, pouring each newcomer a generous portion.

"I am Princess Fuko and I'm very grateful for your assistance in this matter. I am to be married to a well-known prince from the Land of Water. As his future bride, there will be some . . . difficulties along the way."

"I assure you, Princess," murmured Anko, "that we will be capable of taking care of these problems. You will not be in any danger as long as you are with us."

Fuko smiled, relieved.

"Thank you. I have been kept here for the past two weeks with other guard shinobi from nearby clans, and there have been little incidents. However, for my transport to the Land of Water, my father paid Konoha village for some of its strongest ninja. I trust your skills and know that I am in good hands. Thank you."

She looked to Anko again, who then introduced herself.

"I'm Mitarashi Anko, team leader. If there are any other concerns you might have any on the trip, just talk to me and we can arrange something. We've already assigned mission roles, if you don't mind."

"Not at all," assured Princess Fuko.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I'll be taking care of the front, because I can use my shadow clones to clear our path quickly."

The princess's blue eyes widened from Naruto's boisterous introduction.

"I have the same job also. Uchiha Sasuke. I don't use shadow clones, but I can still take on many opponents at once."

Naruto glared at Sasuke.

"Shadow clones are cooler," he insisted.

"Sadly, you're not," retorted Sasuke, ignoring Naruto's protesting noises.

"Hello. I'm Yamanaka Ino, the expert on poisons and mind control techniques. I'll be your personal bodyguard."

Ino smiled cordially at the princess.

"If you don't mind, I'm also an expert on flowers, and I have some suggestions on flowers that you could use at your wedding. You know, if you're interested."

"That sounds lovely. We'll be taking the dress along with us, so you can look at it before we leave."

Naruto turned to Sasuke.

"I can tell they're going to get along well."

Sasuke smirked.

The four split up; Naruto and Sasuke to help pack up the carriages; Ino went to attend to the dress; and Anko stayed, discussing plans with Princess Fuko.

---

Anko took the outside, choosing to walk beside the carriage rather than sit in it where Ino and Princess Fuko were in fervent conversation about flowers and weddings and other things Anko did not necessarily care about.

Naruto was using his clones to carry the last bits of luggage and food to the carriage, while Sasuke took his time arranging the items to make the most space possible.

"That's the last one."

Naruto dropped a suitcase full of clothes in front of Sasuke, who picked it up, placing the suitcase in the last space, like figuring in the last piece of a puzzle.

"Perfectionist," Naruto grumbled, stalking away.

Naruto and Sasuke took their places, each standing beside the carriage that was carrying the princess, Ino, and two servants.

They were pulling out to leave, when a shuriken whizzed towards the carriage, sticking into the thick wood.

Naruto released a short laugh and grinned, following Sasuke to where the shuriken had first appeared.

It was a short wait.

Minutes later, the two exited the woods, looking no worse for wear.

"Alright, _now_ we can leave," Naruto called out, easily walking beside the carriage as it eased out.

---

Furisode- A furisode is a style of kimono distinguishable by its long sleeves, which average between 39 and 42 inches in length. It is the most formal style of kimono worn by unmarried women in Japan. The furisode is made of very fine, brightly colored silk, blah blah blah. Yeah.

Obi- The sash thing tied around the waist.

---

Chapter 2 is done! Yay! Thanks to beta! This story would suck without the editing done...

And...yeah. Review. Please. :)


	3. Kobayashi Hina & Arai Takeshi

I had only a vauge idea what plot bunnies were until they attacked. O_O

Now less about the song itself and more about how it matters to them.

AND MORE NINJA ACTION! Yeps. And new characters!

---

Chapter Three.

---

Sasuke closed his eyes and listened for any enemies that might be hiding in the woods on either side of the road.

There were the obvious sounds; carriage wheels, horse feet, birds, Ino talking, Naruto hum--

"Shut up, Naruto."

Sasuke opened his eyes and glared at the carriage that Naruto was on the opposite side of.

"I'm not talking!" Naruto yelled over the carriage.

"You're humming."

"And your point is?"

"Stop it. It's annoying and I'm trying to listen to see if anyone is following us."

Sasuke turned his glare at the woods.

On the other side of the carriage, Naruto was grinning.

After a second of pausing, Naruto started to sing.

"Dango, dango, dango, dango, Dango Daikazoku."

A small window on the side of the carriage flew open.

"Did someone say dango!? Is there dango near here!?"

Anko's face was barely visible through the small window.

"It's a song about dango! You can sing it too! Dango, dang--!"

A short burst of Chidori erupted from the ground, before the place Naruto had been about to step.

"Sing that again, and the Chidori won't miss."

Naruto's eyes widened, aware of the glare Sasuke held in his voice.

"Sasuke, no harming your teammate. And Naruto, don't tempt him."

Anko leaned out the window and whispered to Naruto quietly, "But could you teach me the song later? A song about dango; that's awesome."

She smiled delightfully, and shut the window.

Naruto laughed, the words easily flowing as he bobbed his head to the tune.

---

Sasuke decided to ignore any sounds he heard, growing increasingly annoyed with Naruto and his idiocy altogether.

And for that very reason, he didn't hear the next attacker approach until multiple shuriken hit the carriage. A woman leaped onto the road, coming from the direction of the woods, and threw kunai at Naruto and Sasuke.

Sasuke pulled out his sword and deflected the kunai easily. In seconds, he was behind the woman.

Sasuke slashed with his sword, only to find a sliced log in her place.

She appeared behind Naruto in a poof of smoke; Naruto too focused on reaching Sasuke to notice.

Expertly, she brandished a kunai and stabbed Naruto in the back.

The doppelganger fell to the ground, bleeding, before disappearing.

The real Naruto leaped off his hiding spot on the top of the carriage, and landed on the woman with an _oof_.

"Told you shadow clones are cooler!" Naruto shouted, taking his time tying up the woman interloper. "Naruto, one; Sasuke, zero!"

He laughed and finally turned his attention to his hostage.

"So, what's your name?" he asked politely. He noticed her odd shade of bright green hair.

The woman ignored Naruto and glared up at the sky, eyes steely.

"Your name," Sasuke prompted, threateningly holding his sword at her throat.

Glowering at Sasuke, she reluctantly spoke, "Kobayashi Hina."

Suspiciously, Sasuke analyzed her, seeing no headband.

"Are you from a ninja village?"

She sighed and met his eyes, staring back at him with blue irises.

"I'm from the Land of Seashells, an island country close to this one. There's no ninja village there, but I'm from the Kobayashi ninja clan."

She turned to Naruto.

"Before you ask, I was hired to do this mission for personal reasons. It wasn't to hold the princess hostage for money or anything."

The carriages caught up to the two Leaf ninja and their captive.

The door opened and Ino stepped out, quickly overseeing the situation.

"Need any help guys?"

"No thanks, Ino."

Naruto looked back to Hina, intent.

"Who hired you?"

"I'm not allowed to tell you."

"I'm pretty sure you weren't allowed to tell us any of that other stuff." Sasuke commented.

Ino stepped forward importantly.

"I guess you guys do need my help. Don't worry. Using my dad's techniques as a base, I created a simpler kind of his jutsu, to find information in a person's head."

Ino pulled a scroll out from her pouch and unrolled it in front of Hina. She took a kunai and made a small incision on Hina's wrist, taking a bit of blood.

She carefully slid the blood onto an empty circle on the scroll, and made multiple hand signs.

"Ninja Art: Mind Invasion Technique," she muttered, closing her eyes as she stilled.

Hina slumped over, obviously unconscious.

"Is she dead?"

Naruto moved to poke Ino, but Sasuke swiftly grabbed his hand, pulling him back.

"Don't touch. She's trying to concentrate."

Sasuke turned back to Ino, now moving.

She slowly stood up, shaking off the feeling of slumber.

Hina groaned, but did not move, her bindings restricting her movements.

"She's working for some guy named Arai Takeshi. Anyone know who that is?"

Ino glanced about, searching for an informant.

Princess Fuko's quiet voice wafted outside from the carriage.

"Yes, he's the third prince of the Land of Seashells."

She moved to see outside of the door of the carriage, noting the young woman on the ground.

"Please untie her."

"But she just attacked us!" Naruto protested.

"I have a message for Takeshi. I will pay you," Fuko murmured to Hina, ignoring the other ninja.

"Untying me will be enough. I got paid in advance for this mission, and it was a lot of money."

Obediently, Ino took a kunai and cut her free.

"What's the message?" asked Hina, turning to the princess.

"Take care of Kaeda."

"That's it?" Hina raised an eyebrow at the princess, suspicious.

"Yes, that is all," Fuko quietly answered, moving back out of sight once more.

Hina shrugged and headed for the woods, disappearing a second later.

"Was that really safe to do?" started Naruto, brow furrowed, staring at the the spot where Hina had dissapeared..

"Well, we'll see, won't we?" Sasuke retorted, regaining his place, Ino following as she retreated into the carriage.

Naruto sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets, grudgingly following their lead.

---

Le gasp! Who is Kaeda? And why is the Princess acting so mysterious!? AND WHY IS NOBODY REVIEWING!?

I know the answer to the first two :P And it would be nice if I didn't have to ask the third :(

There's a reason it's called R&_R_ people. *sigh* My lame-o oneshot had more reviews...


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